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In response to the 16-year-old girl who is against marriage equality
When I read the Philippine Daily Inquirerarticle on marriage equality written by a 16-year old girl, sadness took over me.I’ve always believed that freedom of speech, although it has some pitfalls, is...
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Understanding land grabbing, land rights in the 21st century
The think tank Focus on the Global South released its policy review which tackled one of the most hotly debated themes in the Philippines until today – land grabbing.The Focus Policy Review has just...
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#AnimatED: Bersamin vs Leonen
Justice Marvic Leonen’s stirring dissent on the bail case of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has riled up his colleague, Justice Lucas Bersamin, who penned the decision. What was most telling was Leonen’s...
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INC, Grace Poe, and other graceless spectacles
Senator Grace Poe and the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) similarly mangle reason to try to wriggle out of a tight spot. (READ: Binay, Poe: INC members 'protecting their faith')Brazenly, Poe, her mother the...
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INC’s defeat: Actualizing separation of church and state
This is what we know so far about the cases filed involving the illegal detention or kidnapping of Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) ministers allegedly upon orders of its 8-member Sanggunian (Council).Sometime...
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Heneral Luna: Para sa bayan o sarili?
What makes a hero? Heroism seems absurd in this time of hashtags and Facebook memes. In fact, calling someone a hero is to invite mockery, sarcasm and insult. So here we are now, living in a time we...
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Did government go too easy on Iglesia ni Cristo?
For 3 nights, Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members blocked EDSA, Manila's main highway, even as the city mayor went out of his way to grant them a permit and two presidential candidates expressed statements...
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Women at the top
"For a woman to get half as much credit as a man, she has to work twice as hard, and be twice as smart. Fortunately, that isn’t difficult.” This feminist quote is attributed to Charlotte Whitton, Mayor...
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A prayer for climate
Today, September 1, is marked by the Catholic church as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of our Common Home. Although it has been done by the church since 1989, this year may be more significant as...
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Iglesia ni Cristo: We are one
Sabbath, Shaw Boulevard, early evening: glassy-eyed commuters, old ladies clutching plastic bags, the occasional saleslady, all shouldering into the horde, packed like sausages going bad at the edges,...
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How mining continuously rapes nature
The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 states that only Filipinos or 60% Filipino-owned corporations can engage in the mining business. However, a Chinese named Joseph Sy is the registered owner of Platinum...
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Reform movement within INC
The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is a young sect with old ideas. It operates in a time warp. Although it is only a century old, the INC is basically a medieval sect with outmoded norms. It is a sect hardly...
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Lessons on religion from the INC protest
All the way from New York I felt the collective rage of people stuck in traffic along EDSA on Friday night, August 29. When the religious minority Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) showed their strength in...
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Coding is not the cure to Metro Manila traffic
Metro Manila has been under various forms of the Unified Vehicle Volume Reduction Program, more commonly known by the names “number coding,” “color coding,” or simply “coding” since 1995.In 20 years...
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China’s great fall: The end of Beijing consensus?
In Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, American political scientist Joseph Nye emphasizes the importance of utilizing non-coercive means for achieving desirable strategic outcomes. For...
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What happened 5 years after PH phased out incandescent bulbs?
Do we win all our battles? Definitely not. Some battles last so long that often one forgets when and where they started. But last week, I felt I did win a battle after all. Every time I visit my local...
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On abortion, the Pope, priests should not dictate on women
Pope Francis, dearly beloved by many, welcomed September with seemingly liberating news: He asked priests to pardon women who had abortions.The Pope also shed some holy light on the "sin" that is...
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Part 2: Progressives in a bind
This is part 2 of an examination of an internal document of Akbayan party list assessing on June 23, 2013, why its candidate Risa Hontiveros failed to get elected to the Senate (READ: Part 1:...
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Want better public transit in Metro Manila? Organize!
What do you do if the ticketing system of the train breaks down, and it takes two hours for the system to be restored? If, as a result, you were late for work and your late minutes were deducted from...
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You can’t reduce poverty without a strong public health care system
It is puzzling to us why health care, the system, and its politics, is not as prominent on the development agenda as education and agriculture. Here is a system that by many accounts is in crisis,...
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